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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2004-06-23, Page 3434 Exeter Times–Advocate Wednesday, June 23, 2004 Over $10,000 was raised on the weekend in memory of a local resident who lost his battle with leukemia in February. Four teams consisting of 45 people in total participated in last weekend's Goderich Relay for Life in memory of Mount Carmel's Mike Lightfoot. Mike's wife Kristyn Darling said it was "a great honour to Mike" and they plan to participate again next year and raise even more money. Sixty-two teams participated in the Goderich Relay for Life, raising over $ 1 20,000.Teams walking for Mike included "Team Remembering Mike," "Team Arctic Cat," "Mike's Relatives," and "Ellison Travel." Pictured above in back from left are Liz Pache, Jim Lovie, Steve McIntire, Pasquale Polazzo, Dan Gill, John Hagarty, Phil Brown, Dave Bryson,AI Dunn and Steve Lightfoot; in the middle from left are AngelaVan Bommel,Wendy Becker, Catherine Lovie, Carol Powe, Lois Gill, Joanne Brown and Leigh -Anne Fevery; in front from left are Kristyn Darling, Shelley Bryson, Jordan Rutledge, Gaby Darling, Scott Darling and Kami Fevery; lying in front are Brad Darling and Barb Krueger. Pictured below from left are Gaby Darling, Barb Krueger, Kristyn Darling, Doug Lightfoot, Joanne Brown,Todd Lightfoot and Breanne Darling. (photos/Carol Powe) kelaY foe Life ;emembzwir,g Mike District boards come out ahead on funding By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -ADVOCATE DUBLIN — After a recent assess- ment of how school bus transporta- tion funding had been allocated across Ontario, the provincial gov- ernment both gave and took away from most district school boards. Officials of both the Huron -Perth Catholic and Avon Maitland boards, however, were relieved to learn the giving exceeded the taking in Huron and Perth counties. Based on a document bearing the weighty title of "Equitable Allocation Through a New Funding Model for Student Transportation in Ontario," implementation of the education ministry's new trans- portation funding model began with an assessment of the factors affecting the cost of transportation in different parts of the province. "From a board perspective, what are the different things that can happen in, say, Huron -Perth ver- sus north of Lake Superior," said Catholic board management superintendent Gerry Thuss, dur- ing a meeting June 15. He cited possible differences in fuel prices, road infrastructure, population density and weather. During a presentation of a draft version of his board's 2004-05 bud- get, Thuss explained the recent assessment led the government to conclude Huron -Perth Catholic should receive almost $4.25 million for transportation for the coming year, up from $3.97 in 2003-04. That amounts to an increase of approximately seven per cent, but the initial revised allocation was about $4.65 million; it was then reduced through a "mitigation" process, aimed at preventing cer- tain school boards — those at the other end of the spectrum from Huron -Perth Catholic and Avon Maitland — from facing sudden drastic reductions in transportation funding. "A number of boards actually are getting less (transportation fund- ing)," Thuss said. "So there's a bit of an offset, but we're coming out on the right side after the mitiga- tion, and we know we're going to be there in the future." He added the Education Ministry is treating 2004-05 as a year for "road-testing" the new formula, and that various stakeholders throughout the sector — including trustees and financial officers — will be watching. Social worker among additions to board budget By Stew Slater SPECIAL TO THE TIMES -ADVOCATE DUBLIN — Additional staff to provide Primary -level literacy instruction, to implement the government's goal of reducing average class size in the Primary level, and to offer counselling to secondary students are among the new areas of expenditure under the Huron -Perth Catholic District School Board's 2004-05 budget. The budget was presented to trustees in draft form at a special meeting June 15, then approved at a regular- ly -scheduled meeting June 21. With total expenditures of just under $42.5 million, it represents a 2.4 per cent increase over what eventually formed the board's total 2003-04 expenditures, once mid -calendar government announcements were added to the original 2003-04 budget. Again this year, it's expected additional government funds will flow after initial budgets are finalized. The information packages for trustees included a letter from the education ministry explaining that "some funding enhancements for 2004-05 are not yet allocated to school boards because allocation methods and accountability measures will be developed through con- sultation." Business superintendent Gerry Thuss couldn't esti- mate how much money those announcements might translate into, but the education ministry letter provided three province -wide figures: $64 million for students at risk of dropping out of school; $61 million for student accommodation; and $130 million in what's referred to as "Initiative Funding for Student Success." "Most of this stuff is pretty much directed by the min- ister," explained Thuss, adding there's usually no way to apply the money to other areas of expenditure. He also noted the board doesn't usually plan ahead for any funding from such mid -calendar announcements: "From our perspective, we don't count on anything." One new government initiative for which funding has already been provided — pending the Ministry's approval of each board's plan about how it will spend the money — is the goal of reducing average class size to 20 for Primary -level students. In dealing with a projected four-year phase-in period for what has become known as the "20 -to -1" require- ment, Thuss said the board is looking at installing some portable classrooms, but "has to be pretty selective" about where to implement class size reductions for 2004-05. "A lot of my colleagues (among business superinten- dents) have said that it's extremely expensive and we don't have the accommodation to meet that hard cap requirement," he told trustees. Acting outside specific government directives, the new Huron -Perth budget sets in motion two significant new initiatives: the hiring of three "learning resource" teachers to provide primary -level literacy support, and the hiring of one full-time social worker to serve stu- dents at both the board's secondary schools. "That's a gap that we've identified and we'll see if we can address it," Thuss said. His presentation to trustees included a comment that the decision "reflect(s) the increasing need for social and emotional support for students at the secondary level." POLICE BRIEFS Tools stolen BLUEWATER — On June 14 at 7:45 a.m. an employee of Toucan Flooring located on London Road just south of Hensall reported a break-in. Sometime through the night a person forced open a door to the business. A 10 - inch and a 12 -inch Dewalt mitre saw, a Bostich pneu- matic nail gun, a Palm pilot and a digital Creative Web Cam camera was stolen. The theft is estimated at $2,500. If you have information about this break-in please call the Huron OPP or Crime Stoppers at 1-800- 222-8477(TIPS). Drinking and driving offence BLUEWATER — On June 9 at approximately 8:30 p.m. a citizen stopped someone from driving a vehicle on Crest Beach Road in Bluewater. The citizen called police after a young male drove onto his lawn while making a u -turn. When the citizen spoke to the driver he detected signs of impairment and prevented the man from dri- ving away in a white 1993 Golf Volkswagen. The driver then walked away from the scene towards the beach where he was located a short time later. A 22 -year-old man of Bluewater was taken into cus- tody and found to have close to three times the amount allowed to drive. He has been charged with impaired driving and driving a motor vehicle with over 80 mgs. He will attend court in Exeter Aug. 26.